Repent or Die

1At that time, some people who were there told Jesusa about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.b 2He asked them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered like this? 3Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don’t repent, then you, too, will all die. 4What about those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Jerusalem? 5Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don’t repent, then you, too, will all die.”

The Parable about an Unfruitful Fig Tree

6Then Jesusc told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but didn’t find any. 7So he told the gardener, ‘Look here! For three years I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this tree but I haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the soil?’ 8But the gardenerd replied, ‘Sir, leave it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9Maybe next year it will bear fruit. If not, then cut it down.’”

Jesus Heals a Woman on the Sabbath

10Jesuse was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11A woman was there who had a spirit that had disabled her for eighteen years. She was hunched over and completely unable to stand up straight. 12When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are free from your illness.” 13Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

14But the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, told the crowd, “There are six days when work is to be done. So come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

15The Lord replied to him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey and lead it out of its stall to give it some water? 16Shouldn’t this woman, a descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” 17Even as he was saying this, all of his opponents were blushing with shame. But the rest of the crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.

The Parables about a Mustard Seed and Yeast

(Matthew 13:31-33; Mark 4:30-32)

18So Jesusf went on to say, “What is the kingdom of God like? What can I compare it to? 19It is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”

20Again he said, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God? 21It’s like yeast that a woman took and mixed withg three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

The Narrow Door

(Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23)

22Then Jesush taught in one town and village after another as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23Someone asked him, “Lord,i are only a few people going to be saved?”

He told them, 24“Keep on struggling to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you that many people will try to enter, but won’t be able to do so. 25After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, you can standj outside, knock on the door, and say again and again, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ 26Then you will say,k ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27But he will tell you, ‘I don’t know where you come from. Get away from me, all you who practice evil!’ 28In that place there will be crying and gnashing of teethl when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves being driven away on the outside. 29People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30You see, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.

Jesus Rebukes Jerusalem

(Matthew 23:37-39)

31At that hour some Pharisees came and told Jesus,m “Leave and get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you!”

32He told them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Listen! I am driving out demons and healing today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish my work. 33But I must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day, because it’s not possible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you people were unwilling! 35Look! Your house is left vacant to you. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”n